THE BIRD LADY: Women have taken their rightful place in the lore of bird watching

Who were Lucy, Grace and Virginia? When you think about the names of birds like Lucy's warbler, Grace's warbler and Virginia's warbler, that question comes to mind.

What a gallant thing for a gentleman to do, name a bird after a woman. A woman he regards with affection or admiration. Lucy's warbler was named for Lucy Baird Hunter, the daughter of Spencer Fullerton Baird, a prominent early ornithologist. He also named Grace's warbler after Grace Coues, the sister of fellow ornithologist, Elliott Coues. Virginia's warbler was after Virginia Anderson, the wife of an Army surgeon who sent Baird a specimen of this bird from New Mexico.

Perhaps this practice of naming birds after their favorite women occurred because these early day naturalists spent long periods of time away from home and family and friends. Giving that newly discovered brightly colored bundle of feathers the name of a loved one or friend may have made them seem a little closer.

Some women have a place in history because their names were given to certain birds. Other gained recognition when it comes to birds through their art, photography and their writings.

As a bird photographer and the official photographer for the National Audubon Society, Allan Cruickshank was known throughout the world. Less known, his wife Helen Gere Cruickshank left her own legacy. Joining her husband in his life's work, she too became a photographer, a master bird student, and the author of several books about birdwatching.

In one of those books, "Bird Islands Down East," there is a chapter about her husband's work while photographing cormorants on several of Maine's coastal islands. Reading it, I was transported back three years, to when we were trying to make a landing on one of those islands. Her writing put me in that tossing boat and on that smelly, flea-infested island. You shiver as you read, feeling the fog and mist closing in.

Another of these woman made an impression on me at a much younger age. "Girl of the Limberlost," by Gene Stratton Porter had me looking for Monarch butterflies for years. Porter was also a serious bird photographer. In 1903 she illustrated her first book, "The Song of the Cardinal," with her own photographs.

Deborah Strom's book, "Birdwatching with American Women," has sat on my bookshelves for years. It is a collection of their writings about birds. They span the decades from the late 1800's through World War II.

Women like Porter and Neltje Blanchan Doubleday, wife of the publisher, along with Mabel Osgood Wright, were among those who wrote about the destruction of birds for fashion's sake. Who knows how long egrets would have been slaughtered so that their long, beautiful plumes could adorn women's hats if it hadn't been for these writers.

The book contains 15 selections of nature writings by 15 different women. In one way they are all the same. Each gives an intimate view into an aspect of nature as it relates to birds. This is a book to read and read again. Hopefully, you can find a copy in the library or a special book store. I won't loan mine to anyone because I have yet to read to my grandsons Florence Page Jacques' "There Once Was a Puffin." Written for Child Life Magazine in 1930, it is still funny and they will love it.

"Oh, there once was a puffin just the shape of a muffin. . ."

(Joan Carson of Poulsbo is a member of the local chapter of the Audubon Society.)

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